The Man of Shadows
by Gyrbo
Summary: Naruto thinks everybody hates him. When a man saves Naruto and offers to take him away to become the strongest ninja, Naruto takes the oppertunity with both hands. NaruHina and possibly others. Please R&R.
1. Encounters

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

This is my first attempt at a fanfic, or any more or less serious writing, so I'm most likely not good at it. English also isn't my native language so I'll probably make some spelling and/or grammar mistakes. I got some ideas for this fanfic by reading other people's works so if something sounds familiar, it probably is. I do not however copy portions from other works, I simply used the ideas and adapted them for use in this fanfic.

Since I'm not a Japanese speaker, I tend to use the English names for techniques I'll most likely also have some of my own later on and I don't want to name them something funny.

I haven't read the manga, so I'm basing on what I've seen in the anime (up to ep. 88) and read in other fanfics. This story takes place around the time Naruto gets back to Hidden Leaf Village after rescuing Sasuke from Orochimaru. I'm a big NaruHina fan, so this will most likely happen sometime later in the story.

Flames are allowed, but be original and use a jutsu to create them ;-).

UPDATE: _Thanks for your comments. Because some things were unclear and Naruto was a bit too OOC to my likings, I rewrote parts of the story. I also wrote everything from Naruto POV now. I'll try yo get the next chapter done once I finish my finals (two more to go, yay).  
Someone also suggested that I should get a beta reader, so if anyone is interested, I'd be glad to hear from you._

"..." speech  
'...' thoughts  
line indicates change of scene

Let's get this story going:

A strange man was walking around in Hidden Leaf. He was wearing a black cloak and a black mask similar to Kakashi's. His hair was also the same deep black color. If you didn't look carefully you'd say this man was a shadow. Nobody noticed the man as he was walking around. He was looking for something but didn't seem to find it. He suddenly heard a commotion at the North gate. When he arrived there, a young boy with blond hair and an orange vest came came walking in with somebody on him back. They were both badly injured. He noticed that the villagers were looking at the first boy with hate in their eyes. Over the years he had obtained a keen sense for these things. He glanced at the two boys again. Naruto also noticed the looks of the villagers, but he was used to them. When he looked around, the man had already vanished.

* * *

After Naruto brought Sasuke back, things didn't really improve for the boy. Some of the villagers thought that it somehow was Naruto's fault that Sasuke ended up with Orochimaru. His friends and teachers also didn't pay much attention to him. Sakura was always besides Sasuke's bed until he awoke. When he had gotten better, Kakashi started training him so that he wouldn't need to seek power elsewhere. The only person who saw Naruto's pain was Hinata, but she was too shy to do anything about it. She didn't dare to speak to him. Naruto had never felt so lonely.

* * *

It was a nice evening and Naruto was taking a walk. He enjoyed the silence. He also like the fact that there was nobody to watch him at night. This was his way to relax. Suddenly he saw Sasuke running away in flash. He was heading for the forest. ,What's that baka up to now? He better not make me have to save his ass again, because I'm going to kick it then, hard!' he though to himself while running after him. Sasuke was running far faster than Naruto and he couldn't keep up. After five minutes, he lost sight of the Uchiha ... and an other Uchiha caught sight of him. "Itachi!", Naruto blurted out.

Sasuke heard his friends voice and instantly turned around. "What's Naruto doing here !? I hope I'm not too late, who knows what he's going to do to Naruto. I wonder why he is after him in the first place."

"So we meet again, boy" Itachi said, while activating his Sharingan. Naruto stepped back, but before he could do anything Itachi had used his feared technique: the Tsukuyomi.

Suddenly Naruto found himself back in Konoha. Everyone was watching him with hate in their eyes. Naruto also noticed something else, they were laughing with him. "Foolish boy", he hear whispering around him. He saw several people he knew among the villagers: Iruka, Kakashi even Sakura. They were all making fun of him. "Did you really think you could become Hokage? Did you really think we would _allow_ it?". Out of nowhere, Sasuke stepped up to him, a kunai in his hand, he gave it to Naruto. "You know what you have to do", he whispered in his ear. "Do it, now", the villagers said in unison. Slowly, they started walking up to Naruto. "Foolish boy, end it now and save yourself the grief." They got closer and closer until Naruto couldn't walk away anymore. Naruto squeezed the kunai, slowly raising it. The villagers kept getting closer. "What are you waiting for?" they asked him with a barely audible voice. Than all of a sudden everything turned black.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and looked up, remembering every detail, not knowing that it was an illusion Itachi had created. The boy still had a kunai in his hand. He could only think of their eyes and their voices, they haunted his mind. "Awake I see", an unfamiliar voice spoke. Naruto turned his head and saw a man sitting besides him. He was completely dressed in black but that wasn't what caught his attention. His eyes were cold and dark as the night, but there was no hate in them. More like a sort of concern, a look he hadn't seen directed at him in a while. "Who are you?" Naruto asked. "My name is Hannoki", answered the man _(A/N: yes this is the unknown man from above)_. Naruto tried to stand up, but he was still a bit weak and collapsed again.  
"Do you want me to take you back to your village?", the man who called himself Hannoki asked.  
"No, I don't want to go back there. Not after what happened." The kunai still held in his shaking hand, unsure what to do with it. Even Sasuke, whom he considered his best friend, had betrayed him. Naruto didn't question how he got here, he was just glad he wasn't in Konoha anymore.   
"Would you like to come with me?", the man asked.  
Naruto looked at the man with surprise, than he remembered why Itachi was after him. "Why do you want to help me?", he asked Hannoki, the doubt clearly noticeable in his voice.  
"I like your attitude, you shouldn't just trust anybody. In fact, you should trust anybody at all. However, I mean you no harm. I'm not interested in the Kyubi, but in you."  
Naruto was surprised. 'How did he know that?' "So why _are_ you interested in me?"  
"A strong teacher will always seek out a strong pupil, someone like you."  
Naruto still didn't look convinced.  
"Alright, I'll make you an offer: I'll train you for a week. After that, you can leave to wherever you want and I won't try to stop you. However, if you decide to stay with me I'll make you stronger than you can imagine. Stronger than the Kyubi."  
His eyes widened. 'Stronger than even the Kyubi? Even the Fourth died to defeat it!'  
Hannoki noticed that the boy was in disbelieve. "Take the offer and you'll see for yourself. I'm not expecting you to trust me off the bat."  
Naruto stood up, his strength had come back. He had made up his mind. 'What can I loose? Worst case, he hands me over to Itachi. Not that I really care anymore.'  
"One more thing," the man said while pointing at Naruto's forehead protector. "You'll probably want to take that off since you're a missing-nin now."  
Naruto understood. He took off his forehead protector and made a deep cut in the metal with the kunai he was still holding. Afterwards, he put both away and started following the man.  
"We still have to do something about your flashy appearance though" Hannoki remarked.

Author's Notes:  
OK, that's it for the updated version. I hope this makes things a bit less confusing and more fitting. I do noticed that it's quite a bit shorter, but I'll try to make up for that in the next chapter. Please review, it's really helping me improve.


	2. First Day

I have several unconnected ideas for this fanfic, so I have no idea how many chapters it will have. Thanks for the reviews everyone, I wasn't really expecting more than one or two reviews. For the NaruHina fans, it will probably take a while for them to meet, but I promise it won't be anything that you expect!  
I'd also like to thank my new beta reader Raizu, thanks for reading my work.

"..." speech  
'...' thoughts  
line indicates change of scene

* * *

They had been walking for a couple of hours now and Naruto had no idea where they were heading. He still didn't completely trust the man. He also wasn't sure that he was really any good. He claimed that he could make Naruto stronger than his wildest dreams, but he gave no indication as to how the hell he was going to do that. As far as Naruto knew, he was just bluffing. He'd find out either way soon.

* * *

They arrived at a small town on the edge of the forest. There was only one inn and that was where they were heading. "Naruto, we'll be staying here for a while. If we're lucky, the ANBU guys won't find this place for a couple of days and by then we'll be gone. Now, as for your clothing..." Hannoki said, inspecting Naruto's pants and vest, and shrugged. "Boy, you're just screaming 'attack me' with those things."  
They arrived at the inn and Hannoki booked a room. "Let's get something to eat while we're at it." Hannoki said to Naruto. 'Finally, Ramen,' was Naruto's reaction. To his surprise, the man only served him a bowl of rice. "You're freeloading here, no complaints" the teacher said, guessing his student's thoughts.  
After their meal they went over to a tailor shop and got Naruto a black cape, pants and vest. Hannoki decided that the shirt could still serve a purpose, since it was also black. He also got him a mask similar to his own. After Naruto put everything on, he looked like a smaller version of his new sensei. Except for the blond hair and blue eyes, which were also black on Hannoki. "Much better. Now that we have that taken care of, I'll explain your training program." And with that, they headed back for the forest, looking for a suitable training spot.

* * *

Once they had found a large enough clearing, Hannoki began to speak: "First some rules. Rule number one: You are to get up at sunrise, every day, no exceptions. If you do not get up by yourself, I will resort to some of my own methods. Some of which are rather unpleasant" the teacher grinned. Naruto swallowed.  
"Rule number two: in order to conserve time, we only have two meals a day. One in the morning and one in the evening." continued the man. 'Damn,' thought Naruto, 'there goes my daily Ramen breakfast, lunch and dinner.'  
"Rule number three: this is a very important one. Always do what I say. Questions are allowed, but I will not tolerate disobedience." 'Man this might be harder than I first expected,' thought Naruto to himself.  
"Rule number four, this is a special rule for you: you cannot use the Ninetail's chakra unless I tell you to. You shouldn't rely on it and only use it in emergencies. Got all that?" Naruto nodded.  
"Now, I did tell you that you have great potential, but you'll still have to prove to me you are worthy of my training," Hannoki finished. With those words the man assumed a fighting stance. "Come!"  
'Yes, the moment I've been waiting for, let's see how good this guy is.' Naruto drew a kunai and charged head on. He started with a punch aimed at Hannoki's upper torso, but he easily blocked it. He than performed a jumping kick towards the head, this time it was dodged by bending backwards. He threw a few more punches and kicks towards his teacher, none did any damage. 'I'm getting nowhere like this!' Naruto jumped back, making hand seals for his trademark jutsu. Suddenly Hannoki grabbed his hand.  
"It's over." he calmly said to Naruto.  
"Nani!?" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm holding your hand, you can't make any hand seals any more." It was true, he couldn't perform the Shadow Replication.  
"This fight showed me your greatest weaknesses," Hannoki started to explain. "First of all, you shouldn't charge at an opponent without knowing any of his capabilities. I could've killed you before you could even blink.  
Secondly, and this one was already painfully obvious when I first saw you, you're very lacking in stealth. If you have the element of surprise on your side, you can overpower a stronger enemy.  
Third, you're slow. Dead slow, you need to speed up the hand seals in order to be able to do them effectively in combat. You're also moving too slow.  
Finally, you're lacking on chakra control. You were molding a lot more chakra than you needed when you were focusing on your jutsu." Naruto was at least a bit surprised by what his new sensei had told him. "But how did I beat all these strong guys then?" Naruto questioned. "You also have some good points: you have quite a bit of stamina. You don't look the least bit tired after coming at me like that. Moreover, you have a large chakra supply, even without using the Ninetail's." Naruto understood.  
"We've already partially taken care of the stealth part, so I won't come back on it right away. We'll focus on two things right now: chakra control and stamina. Have you done the tree climbing and water walking?"  
Naruto nodded in agreement.  
"Good, than we can move on to something a bit more interesting." Hannoki got a kunai out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. He than stretched his hand and the kunai started floating in mid air. He than move his hand slightly forward and the kunai flew away, hitting a nearby tree. 'Finally, something that could prove to be interesting,' the boy spoke in his mind. "This will be your first exercise. I won't expect you to do this instantly, so we'll do it in steps." He got another kunai out of his pocket and placed it on the ground again, laying his hand on top. "This is the first step." He then raised his hand, the kunai sticking to it. He than dropped the kunai again. "Once you get this, the next step is pretty, easy. You simply focus more chakra," he continued his explanation. The kunai that was on the ground suddenly flew up at his hand at high speed. "The third step involves using a precise amount of chakra so that the kunai starts floating." He demonstrated this, letting the kunai lose contact with his hand, the tool rotating slightly. "The finally step is to create a small chakra blast and propel the kunai towards your target. This is pretty easy to do but very hard to master, hitting a specific target requires lots of practice." He handed over the kunai, motioning for Naruto to try it. "Okay, I can do this. Just focus some chakra to your hand to make it stick, right?" Naruto said in excitement. He placed the weapon on the ground, placing his hand on top and focusing chakra. The first try failed miserably. Instead of attracting the kunai, it moved slightly away. "Man, this is harder than I thought," he said out loud. His sensei couldn't suppress a small smile. It had taken him a while to get it right too. "Well I still have some things that I need to do, I expect you back at the inn at sundown," Hannoki said as he slowly turned opaque. Naruto didn't notice that though. He was too busy trying to make the damn thing stick to his hand.

* * *

The sunlight started to decrease. 'Finally', Naruto thought, his stomach growling. 'It's going to take me a while to get used to this "two meals a day" thing." He didn't make much progress that day, the kunai wouldn't stick to his hand for more than a split second. 'At least I'm not pushing it away anymore', he happily said to himself. He than started walking towards the inn his teacher has reserved a room. When he got there, his sensei was waiting for him. "Right on time." Hannoki handed him another bowl of rice while saying that. Naruto quietly accepted, not doing much effort to hide his displease. While eating, Naruto couldn't help remembering what he thought had happened the previous night. He quickly shook the thoughts out of his head and continued eating. 'It sucks not having Ramen.' "Ne, sensei" Naruto directed towards the man besides him, "There is only one bed in the room, where are you going to sleep?" Hannoki looked at the foolish boy. Naruto understood, even more displeased. 'Damn, I haven't slept on the floor in a while. I knew this wasn't vacation, but at least he could've gotten me a decent bed.' "Don't worry, you'll get used to it," the teacher smirked.  
When they walked towards the room, Naruto noticed his sensei was carrying a heavy bag. He hadn't noticed it before, so he must have gotten it today. 'I wonder what he's going to do with it?' He was planning on asking, but than decided not to. 'I probably don't want to know...'

Author's Notes:  
That's it for the second chapter. I know I promised I would make it longer, but I couldn't think of anything else to fit in this day. Don't worry, I still have plenty of ideas for the next couple of days. This was just the easy training, it will get harder soon.  
I also value your opinion, what do you think about the teacher? Should he be more severe? More like Kakashi? I'm kind of thinking of making him somewhere in between Kakashi and Gai. I don't like those "evil teacher" types.


	3. Next Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

Thank you again for all the reviews. I'll answer some of the questions.  
stunlee: Weight training is in this chapter, I had it planned already.  
TenTen Hyuga: Nothing really happened to the Ransengan. It would be a little overkill to use that right away. He doesn't want to kill the teacher before he at least teaches him a couple of new techniques.  
hinanaru: I doubt Naruto is going to be evil, but you never know what could happen in my twisted mind.  
aznfunkmasta99123: I think he's somewhere around 12-13 years. Naruto will return to Konoha at some point, but don't expect it to be soon (I have to hold back so I won't give spoilers here).

Anyway, finals are over now, so I'll have plenty of time to work on this little fic. Enjoy the next chapter.

"..." speech  
'...' thoughts  
line indicates change of scene

* * *

Tsunade was worried. They had already found Sasuke; but Naruto was still missing. 'I hope Itachi didn't take him.' An ANBU came rushing in her office: "Hokage-sama, Sasuke was finally woken up. I'm afraid I have bad news. Sasuke was fighting Itachi. Naruto was already knocked out by than."  
"We'll have to assume the worst then. Send out four extra squads to look for him."  
"Right away, Hokage-sama," the masked mad said while hurrying away.  
'This is bad, we don't know what they plan on doing with the boy. To make matters worse, Itachi is almost a day ahead of us!'

* * *

Itachi was sitting in a branch. 'Where could that boy have gone? He should have been out cold for a couple of hours. It's impossible for him to have run off. Judging from the amount of ANBU still here after they found my foolish brother, they don't have him either. Someone else must have taken him, but who? Whoever this mysterious person is, he's good. I couldn't detect him at all. I wonder what his business with the boy is. I better think by next move through carefully.' These were his last thoughts before heading deeper into the forest. He couldn't risk being spotted by ANBU now; he had the tactical advantage.

* * *

Our 'hero' didn't have much trouble waking up. He had been awake for the better part of the night, thinking of what may have transpired back in Konoha. The hard floor didn't exactly help him to sleep either.  
As soon as the sun rays started pouring through the window, Hannoki got up. When he saw Naruto was already awake, a little disappointment was visible in his eyes. He had hoped to get the boy out of bed, or rather off the floor, with some of his own methods.

In the dining hall of the inn, Naruto was expecting another bowl of rice. To his surprise, his sensei asked him what he wanted to have for breakfast. "I'm in a good mood today, take whatever you want," was his explanation.  
The man didn't have to wait long for Naruto's answer: "Ramen!"  
After they both finished their food, Hannoki stoop up and motioned for Naruto to follow him. They went towards the same clearing where Naruto had been training the day before. "We'll be having some fun today," the master started. Naruto looked at his sensei in surprise. "We'll be playing some tag."  
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Tag?!"

"Yep, but we are going to use some slightly modified rules. You can use whatever jutsu you want. I won't be using any myself, however."  
"So what's the catch?" Naruto asked suspiciously.  
"You're sharp kid. You have to wear these." Hannoki got the bag that Naruto saw him carrying the day before. He than proceeded to get several weights out of it, and put them on Naruto's arms and legs (_A/N: Think Lee, but less heavy_). "Now let's start, but remember to always keep the weights on."  
"Got it, prepare yourself!" Naruto started running towards his target, but he fell flat on his face after the first step. 'Damn, these things are heavier than I thought. It'll take some time to get used to them.' Naruto stood up and tried walking, a bit less enthusiastic this time. Hannoki jumped a couple of meters away, waiting for his student to catch up.  
Not that he really had to worry, it took Naruto another five minutes to be able to walk around. 'This isn't too hard, but I won't be able to run unless I focus chakra to my legs.' Naruto started moving towards his teacher, making the hand seals for the Shadow Replication. He was stopped when Hannoki planted his fist in the boy's stomach. "Hey, what are you doing??? I thought you weren't allowed to use any jutsu!"  
"That doesn't mean I can't use hand to hand combat."  
"Cheater," Naruto mumbled. 'I won't be able to perform any technique in front of him, he'd beat me to a pulp before I finished the last hand seal. I can't charge at him directly either, I'm no match for his speed. Especially with these weights on.' Naruto pondered his next move for a moment. 'I got it!' Naruto quickly moved backwards and hid in the forest. Hannoki nodded in approval.  
The boy stood behind a tree. 'This should give me enough time to do this.' He was finally able to complete his technique. In order not to reveal his move, he whispered the final words: "_Shadow replication_." He only created only two clones. He made one of them move towards the teacher in a large circle, making some noise on the way to draw attention away from him and the other clone. He than sent the second replication up a tree to attack his prey from above.  
"You're getting better Naruto, but you're still way too visible!" the man explained.  
'Good, he's falling for it!' When he wasn't looking in his direction the clone jumped out of the tree.  
"Nani?!" was the only response the teacher could give. His surprise didn't last long, however. He quickly grabbed the arm Naruto has extended to tag his sensei and forcefully threw him at a nearby tree. The close disappeared in a puff of smoke. "So you're capable of using the Shadow Replication at your age. I can't deny that I'm impressed, but you'll have to do better."  
"I'm not done yet" Naruto said as he appeared from behind the tree, finishing the last seal. "Mass Shadow Replication!" This time around twenty clones ran and jumped towards the target, which was pretty hard considering they all wore the same weights.  
On of the clones was about to touch Hannoki, when the man suddenly disappeared. All of the Naruto's crashed into each other, leaving the real one laying on the ground. "Up here kid!" was the response from up a tree. Hannoki stood on a branch, looking at this student on the ground. "I finally saw your real potential surfacing. You made some nice tactical decisions there and you even managed some stealth. Your speed is still below par, but that will gradually improve. The only reason I beat you this time is because my speed is several times higher than yours. Our little game is over for now." Naruto sighed and started to untie the weights. "You should leave those on, they'll help you improve your speed. You still have work to do: and I expect you to do the kunai thing by the end of the week." With those words he started fading out of sight.  
"I was just starting to have some fun, one more round and I would've gotten him." Naruto spoke out loud. "No time for complaints, I have to get this kunai sticking. He probably won't teach me any new techniques otherwise."

* * *

It was already a couple of hours into the afternoon when he had finally got the hang of it. He had to make the chakra flow out of his hand, avoiding the kunai and than attract it towards the center of his hand. "Let's see, what was the next step? You had to lay the kunai on the ground and try to make it fly towards your hand. That can't be much harder, can it?'

Unfortunately it was, he only managed to make it shake a little when Hannoki returned.  
"Let's see how far you are."  
"Well, I'm capable of making it stick to my hand," Naruto said as he demonstrated his abilities. "But I can't seem to get it off the ground yet, it only moves a bit."  
"The trick to make it float is slightly different than to make it stick. You have to bridge some distance and additionally you have to wrap the chakra around the kunai. You did well for now though, we should be heading back."

* * *

Naruto didn't have the same luck as he did with breakfast. Dinner was a bit more extensive than the day before, though. They new got some fish and vegetables with their rice.

It was already dark outside when they finished. They went back to their room to sleep. It looked as if his sensei fell asleep the moment he touched the bed. Sleep wouldn't come for Naruto, the same memories haunted his mind. 'Ah this is no use.' He got up from his not-so-comfortable spot on the ground. 'If I can't get some rest, I might as well train some more.' He sat down and laid a kunai on the floor. He then stretched his arm and started focusing chakra. The kunai only wiggled a bit.  
'Some more chakra should do the trick!' he thought to himself. He focused more chakra; up to the point where it became visible in his hand. The kunai started shaking violently and suddenly spun away. 'What the...' Naruto wondered. He then remembered the second hint. 'Wrap the chakra around it? How the hell am I supposed to do _that_!' He kept on trying until he finally fell asleep from exhaustion. It was a dreamless sleep.

Author's Notes:  
I have the next chapter mostly thought out, so it won't take long to get it up. I quickly reread the first chapter and I found out I forgot to re-add the part about the weird symbol on Hannoki's forehead. Ah, I hate it when that happens. Don't worry I'll make Naruto notice it in the next chapter. I'm also planning a small fight so that I can show how strong the sensei is.


	4. On the move

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

I got bored because I didn't have anything to do this afternoon. So what do you do? You write some (OK, at least I do). I actually had to do some research for this chapter. I had to make sure I was correct about the locations of the different countries and villages. I didn't even know Konoha was in the fire country feels ashamed.

* * *

Naruto woke up by falling to the ground, hard. "What the hell is going on?" he questioned out loud.  
"I told you, you have to get up at sunrise. The sun's been up for **at least** two minutes," said the sensei, probably with a grin on his face. Not that you could see because of the mask.  
"What did you do anyway?" Naruto asked.  
"I was doing a little demonstration of the technique you're supposed to learn. This time I didn't use a kunai, however."  
Naruto could picture the grin getting wider. "Whatever," was the boy's only response. "Let's just eat."

* * *

After they finished their meals _(A/N: do I really have to describe each meal? They just ate "something")_, Hannoki started talking. "ANBU are getting closer, we're going to be traveling for a while."  
"So where are we going?"  
"We'll be heading west, towards the Grass country. You won't be able to practice your kunai control during the day. You can still do your speed training though, we won't be walking."  
"So you're saying I'm supposed to run after you with these things on my legs?" Naruto said, pointing to the weights he still had on.  
"Precisely"  
Naruto sighed. 'This guy isn't going to go easy on me. Furthermore, I'm still supposed to make the kunai float by the end of the week.' "And what are we going to do once we arrive at the grass country?"  
"A change of scene will have a positive effect on your training. Different countries use different techniques and you can only benefit from that."  
Naruto looked at his sensei, he didn't wear a forehead protector. Instead he had a weird symbol on his forehead. It was a reversed triangle with a smaller regular triangle inside and a circle around it. "So what village are you from?"  
"I was raised and trained in the Stone country. I never graduated the academy, though. An old man trained me and I still have no regrets. This has the added advantage that I'm no missing-nin. Which brings me to another advantage of going to Grass, nobody will know who you are." With that, Hannoki stood up. "We better get going if we want to stay ahead of those ANBU." Naruto followed his teacher's example and they both walked outside.

"Hmm, we still need a sleeping bag for you." Hannoki said casually.  
"Couldn't you have thought of that **before** you made me sleep on the bare floor?!"  
"What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger, right?"  
Naruto cursed at his sensei inwardly.

They got a sleeping bag for Naruto from the shop and started going westwards. "We'll have to speed up a bit" Hannoki said as he jumped from branch to branch. Naruto tried to follow him, but he was lagging behind because of the weights. "Come on boy, you don't want those ANBU guys to catch you? Who knows what they'll do to you." Mischief blinking in the man's eyes.  
Naruto swallowed, that brought back some memories he didn't want. It did give him the motivation he needed to keep up with his teacher.

* * *

Back at Konoha, Tsunade received some bad news. "Hokage-sama, someone has spotted a blond haired boy with blue eyes in a nearby village. There was also a man with black hair and dressed in a black cloak with him."  
"It's certain now, Itachi has him and will most likely take him to Akatsuki. We don't know their objective but we must prepare for the worst."  
"There is one odd things though, Hokage-sama."  
"And that is?"  
"They were heading west, instead of north-east" _(A/N: that's where the Sound country is)  
_"Orochimaru isn't a part of Akatsuki anymore, we have no reason to believe they would be heading that way. We must warn all Konoha ninjas of this, I want you to gather them all here."  
"Of course, Hokage-sama"

* * *

"That's all the information we have up to now," Tsunade finished her explanation. "We don't yet know why they have kidnapped the boy or what they are planning to do with him. I expect everyone to report directly to me as soon as you have more information". She hadn't mentioned anything about the Kyubi, 'There is no need at this point to tell them the entire story. It would only hurt Naruto in the end.'

Hinata was shocked. 'I..I wasn't able to tell Naruto-kun how I feel. I may never get the chance now. If I see him again, I will defiantly tell him. I will change, I will become stronger. Naruto-kun, please come back. I'll be waiting for you.' She went out to the training area they had last met. 'It was the last time we met. I was able to speak to him then. I never had the courage to do that before.' Hinata was reminiscing. She started to hit one of the logs out of frustration.  
"What are you doing here all by yourself?" A voice asked  
"Neji-oniisan! I...I'm just doing some training..." she shyly responded

"Hinata-san, that's not really training. The only way you'd be able to defeat an enemy with that is by making them laugh themselves to death."  
"Go-Gomen."  
"Don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong to me. I know you're worried because Naruto has been kidnapped. I know how you feel about him."  
"You do?!" she started blushing heavily  
"It's pretty obvious. Everyone knows... Everyone except Naruto. Don't worry, he'll come back. He still has a dream to fulfill."  
"You're right, I'm sure he'll be fine." she was now sliming at Neji  
"Now as far as training goes, do you want me to help you?"  
She looked up in surprise. "Would you do that?"  
"Of course, you'll have to become stronger if you want to tell Naruto about your feelings."  
Hinata nodded. They started training, Neji instructing the girl. From a distance, Hiashi watched the two in approval.

* * *

Naruto and Hannoki had been running through the forest for a couple of hours now. Naruto was having more trouble keeping up with his sensei. The weights required him to focus chakra to his feet in order to run and jump. His regular chakra supply was running low. "Hannoki-sensei, could we rest for a minute," Naruto asked while breathing heavy.  
"We've build up some distance already, I think we can stop for a while now. I would still like to go a little further today, but since we're not heading for a town, there's no hurry."  
"You mean we'll be staying in the forest tonight?" Naruto swallowed.  
"What's the matter? You're not afraid, are you?"  
"Of course not!" Naruto yelled, jumping up.  
"You're quite energetic, are you sure you want to rest?"  
Naruto fell down again. He didn't have much sleep the night before because he was training. He started to feel the effects of that now. His arms and legs also started to ache because of the extra weight that was attached to them. "Ne, sensei, what are you going to teach me after I finished the kunai training?"  
"I'm thinking about some battle tactics, history and science. These are skills that any ninja should posses and effectively make use of during battle."  
"By boring your enemies to death?"  
"You're going to learn them, one way or another."  
"And what if I decide to leave after the first week?"  
Hannoki's eyes changed for a brief moment, before returning to normal. "You'd miss out on all these powerful and cool jutsu I was planning to teach you."  
"You're trying to trick me into staying with you, aren't you?"  
"And what if I am?" he said bluntly.  
Naruto didn't have an answer ready.   
He sat there quietly for another half hour before continuing.

* * *

It was still long before dusk when they stopped again. Hannoki went to collect some wood for a fire while Naruto proceeded with his training. He didn't really like the prospect of the studying that was ahead, but he still wanted to figure out this technique. By the time Hannoki had made the fire and was preparing dinner, Naruto hadn't advanced much. The kunai wasn't just shaking now, it was rotating instead. The teacher was watching his student in amusement.  
Naruto was pulling his hair out. "Sensei, can't you tell me what I'm doing wrong here?"  
"I was starting to wonder when you would give up. It's very simple, your trying to grab the kunai from all sides with your chakra. This causes the chakra to start spinning, which is it's natural flow." He paused for a moment.  
"So what can I do about it?"  
Hannoki sighed. "You have no brain at all do you? Let me try to give you a hint that even you could understand. How do you usually grab a kunai with your hand?"  
"You just place your fingers on each side of the kunai and close your hand."  
"Exactly, now try the same with your chakra."  
Naruto was puzzled for a moment. Than all of a sudden his face brightened up. "I got it! You're supposed to use only two strings of chakra, one on each side."  
Hannoki looked pleased. "Correct. However, knowing how it's done doesn't mean that you'll be able to do it."  
Naruto didn't listen, he had newfound enthusiasm and eagerly tried this new method.

Hannoki quickly raised his head. "Quiet boy, we've got company."  
Naruto looked up in surprise, he hadn't heard or sensed anything.  
Several silhouettes were now visible on the edge of the clearing.  
"We have no business with you, if you leave us alone I won't harm you." Hannoki began the conversation.  
"We have no intention of leaving you alone. Besides what can you do? You're outnumbered and by the looks of it, neither of you belong to any hidden village."  
Hannoki motioned Naruto to stay silent.  
"Now hand over all your money and valuable possessions and we might let you live."  
"You'll have to come and get them." Hannoki replied  
The men didn't wait a moment and jumped out from the darkness.  
Hannoki performed several hand seals, but he did it so fast Naruto couldn't see what it was. "Wind Barrier!" A whirlwind appeared for a short moment, knocking the opponents back.  
One of the enemies threw a kunai towards Hannoki. Instead of dodging it, he simply caught it and returned the favor. The other ninja moved to the side, dodging the weapon. Hannoki continued his attack. He ran towards the man at an inhumane speed, placing his elbow on the opponent's gut.  
The other assailants didn't stand around and came rushing at their target. The "target" performed a rotating kick, hitting several enemies with high force.  
Naruto didn't want to miss out on the fun and charged up his Ransengan. He hit a surprised ninja on the chest with his powerful move, knocking him out.  
The attackers realized that they couldn't win this fight and retreated, carrying the wounded. Naruto wanted to go after them, but his teacher stopped him. "We have already won this, there is no gain by going after them."  
Naruto was a little disappointed, but he remembered rule number 3 'always do what I say'.  
"I'll teach you a very important lesson now."  
This caught Naruto's interest and he was all ears.  
"You shouldn't attack anyone unless there is a need for it. The same, but in a higher degree, counts for killing someone."  
Naruto nodded, he understood what his sensei was telling him.  
"However, if the need arises to attack or even kill a person, you should not hesitate. Today's little brawl was a very good demonstration of that. I first tried avoiding combat at all, but when they wouldn't back down I immediately went to fight them. You should always try to judge a situation before acting."  
The boy, who had been listening carefully, nodded again.  
"That's it for today's lesson, go on with your regular training."  
Naruto got out the kunai once again and tried making the kunai do what he wanted once again.

Author's Notes:  
I hope the whole Hinata stuff wasn't too corny. I'm not really that much of a romance writer.  
I promised a fight and you got it. I hope it was obvious enough that Hannoki was **extremely **fast (think Rock Lee again, before taking off the weights). I just want to say that this defiantly wasn't his full power. After all, it was just some everyday thugs.  
This chapter came out a lot longer that I had originally intended, but I don't think you guys will mind. I won't describe each day in such detail in the future, it's just that the first couple of days are very important. After this I'll most likely write the next of the first week in a single chapter.


	5. A good deed

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

Thanks for the reviews. I don't have anything witty to say, so I'll just start writing this chapter.

I'm fast forwarding here because nothing interesting happens (read: I can't come up with anything interesting).

"_italics"_ whispering/soft voice

* * *

It was almost the end of the first week. Naruto had been training hard and he was already able to make the kunai float in mid-air. He still had some problems with aiming it when he launched it. He almost hit his sensei once.  
Naruto also had less problems running with the weights, he barely had to use any extra chakra to keep up with his teacher. They had crossed the border to the Grass country the day before and were now heading towards the Grass village.

They were running through the forest, parallel to the road in order not to draw unneeded attention. Suddenly they noticed that there was a fight on the road. Three kids were being attacked by a man. The kids seemed to be losing, they were already down. The man was about to attack.  
Naruto looked at his sensei. Hannoki gave him a quick nod.  
The attacker finished his technique: "Whirlwind Blast!"  
Naruto ran towards the man, "Ransengan!"  
The two attacks collided, causing a huge explosion. The man was obviously startled. He watched his new enemy, unsure what to do. His assailant was only a boy, but that boy had stopped one of his more powerful moves. He decided it was best to get away.  
The three kids were equally, if not more, surprised. They slowly got up, not sure what to think of their rescuer. Naruto noticed that the three of them were wearing Grass forehead protectors, they looked around his age. One of them was a boy, the other two were girls.  
"Thank you for saving us. We only just graduated from the academy, so we're not really that good," the boy began, scratching his hair in the progress.  
Hannoki now also came out of the forest. The three kids jumped back, not knowing him. "No need for thanks, we were glad to help. You guys got lucky we came by," the sensei spoke.  
"_**We**, it was the boy who helped us_," whispered one girl to the other.  
"You guys are genins, aren't you supposed to have a teacher accompanying you?" Hannoki asked.  
"We are out on a quick errand for my parents. We weren't supposed to run into any trouble so we went by ourselves," the second girl explained  
"I assume you're heading for Grass village?" continued his questioning.  
The three genins nodded.  
"We're heading there too, so if you don't mind we'll provide you with an escort. That guy may attack again if he sees the chance."  
"Thanks, we appreciate it. I'm Tsuta" the boy said.  
"I'm Yuri," the first girl said, she had light grayish hair.  
"And I'm Bara," the second, pink haired, girl finished.  
"I'm Hannoki and this is my brother Totei," Hannoki said, pointing at Naruto. Naruto understood.

The group of five now started walking towards their destination. Naruto noticed that Tsuta was looking at him. "Ne, from which village are you two? You don't seem to have any forehead protectors," he finally asked.  
"We're not really from any specific village. Neither of us graduated from the academy," Hannoki answered. "I also have a question for you."  
The three kids looked at him.  
"Do you have any idea who that man was and why he attacked you?"  
"I haven't seen him before and I have no idea why he attacked us either. We don't carry any money with us," Bara answered.

Naruto started walking besides his teacher: "_Sensei, why are we really joining them. Doesn't this make us more visible?_"_  
_"_It would be more suspicious if we would just leave them and disappear in the forest. Besides, the odds of that guy attacking again are pretty high. You wouldn't want them to get killed right after you saved them, would you?_"  
Naruto accepted the explanation and the rest of the trip was in silence.

* * *

It was almost evening when the group finally arrived at Grass village. A man was waiting at the entrance. "Ah, Tsuta, you're back."  
The boy went up to him. "This is my father." He told Hannoki and Naruto.  
The man walked up to the group.  
"These two saved us when we were attack by someone. That's Hannoki," he said while pointing to the teacher, "and his brother's name is Totei."  
The man bowed. "Nice to meet you and thanks for saving my son. To show you my gratitude, I'll offer you dinner. If you don't have a place to stay yet, we'll give you a room at our inn at no charge."  
"Thank you for you offer," Hannoki replied. They started walking, the two girls said goodbye and left for their own homes.  
"_You had this in mind already, didn't you?_" Naruto said as soon as the boy and his father couldn't hear him.  
"_Of course. I've been traveling for some time and I know how to get a free room._"  
"_And to think I did all the work..._"  
"_Think of it as payment for the times I paid for your food, Totei_"

* * *

For the first time in a week, Naruto had some decent food. Afterwards, they went the room that was prepared for them.  
"Naruto, the first week is almost over. Do you still intend to follow my teachings?" Hannoki asked.  
After a brief pause, the boy gave his answer. "I have nothing to lose by doing so, so I'll stay with you."  
"Good. You have no doubt noticed the symbol on my forehead."  
Naruto nodded.  
"It's not just some art, it has a special meaning. This symbol is the source of much of my power." After he said those words, he made a couple of quick hand seals. He then placed one hand on Naruto's forehead. A reversed triangle appeared where his hand was. "This is the first stage. You will receive the next stages when you are ready."  
"So what does this seal do?"  
"Although the seal doesn't give you any special powers at this stage, it allows me to track you down. It's a little security in case someone kidnaps you."  
Naruto was a bit disgruntled. "Or if I run away?"  
Hannoki ignored his question. "You have pretty much mastered the kunai control technique, so we will be moving to more advanced things."  
"I'm still not happy about the entire tracking thing."  
"It's needed for the next stages, which will give you the power I promised you." With those words, he went to his bed.  
This meant discussion closed. 'I did say I was going to stick with him, so I guess it doesn't really matter. As long as he doesn't use it to cheat with the tag game."

Author's Notes:  
I've had some trouble writing this chapter. The main reason was that I had a lot of other things on my mind and couldn't focus as much as I wanted to. This resulted in me writing this chapter in multiple pieces. The others were written in one go. I know it's a bit short, but I hope to make up for it in the future.

I'm currently not sure if the three kids are going to be involved again. Up to now, I haven't thought up anything for them.  
All the names I've come up with until now (including Hannoki) have a meaning, can you guess them?


	6. Fights!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

Thanks again for the reviews, I do read them. Most of the time I already have most of the next chapter finished when the current one comes up.  
FlareOfDragon, I'll take them as questions and give answers in the progress. I haven't actually seen Naruto do the Ransengan, only Jiraya. When he demonstrated the technique, it's target was far from seriously damaged so I think it's possible. Furthermore, Naruto didn't actually hit him, he just blocked his attack. I'm sure Hannoki was impressed, he just didn't show it. He hasn't seen what the Ransengan can really do yet, either.  
Sorry about the chapters being short. I'm trying to make up for the length by posting them frequently. Making them longer would mean longer waits and possible lack of interest from my part. I can simply write two chapters at once and merge them. It's fine by me either way.  
He probably should have mastered the kunai floating earlier, but just imagine it's very different from the Ransengan. It does require fine grained chakra control to do right.  
Hannoki didn't really make Naruto float for a long time, he just lifted him and dropped him to the ground. You're also seriously underestimating him. At risk of a small spoiler, Hannoki possibly has even more chakra than Naruto.

I was discussing some things with my beta reader and I came up with some cool techniques I wanted to use. I wanted to write about them, so I had no choice but to get another chapter up. You probably already guessed it, this will be mostly about fighting. I haven't written any extensive fights yet, so we'll see how it turns out.

* * *

Naruto didn't have any problems waking up in the morning anymore after some of Hannoki's "trainings". He had slept very well because this was the first time in a week he spent the night in a real bed. His teacher woke up a little after Naruto.  
After they ate breakfast, Hannoki spoke with Tsuta's father. "Thank you for your hospitality, we will be going now. If we come by this village again, we will surely visit." With those words the two "brothers" left the inn.

They had to walk a bit in order to find a good training ground. It was a ninja village after all, and a lot of the places were already used. Once they found one, Hannoki started talking. "You know most of the basics right now. You'll need these in order to learn more advanced techniques. You came from the fire country, so we'll be learning some fire jutsu's first. The simplest is a basic Fire Blast."  
Naruto was very interested, he couldn't wait.  
Hannoki slowly performed the needed hand seals so Naruto could memorize them. "These are the seals, after you do them, you direct some chakra towards your lungs and blow it out in a blast. The more chakra you focus, the more powerful the attack." The sensei also demonstrated this.  
Naruto tried it, but he didn't manage to form a flame yet.  
"You have the basics down, now it's up to you to learn how to do it. It's something that can only be done through experience." Hannoki kept watching Naruto.  
The boy slowly got the hang of it. At first he had to cough because he was only producing smoke. After a couple of more tries he finally managed to make a flame, although only a small one.  
"Focus more chakra to make it bigger," the watchful teacher suggested.  
All of a sudden, a man stepped out from the forest. Naruto instantly recognized him, it was the same one who attacked the three genins the day before.   
"You managed to surprise me yesterday, but that won't happen today," he announced. "Now fight me, and show me how strong you are!"  
Naruto had been waiting for a chance to get into a real fight. He was eager to attack, but he thought about what his sensei told him. He went into a fighting stance, waiting for the opponent to make the first move. 'I have to see what he's capable of first.'  
The challenger started forming seals, preparing his initial attack.  
Naruto then used one of his sensei's tricks. Taking advantage of his own speed, he punched his opponent in the face before he could complete his technique.  
The man quickly recovered, preparing for close combat.  
Naruto jumped back, doing some seals himself. He created 10 Shadow Replications, which he ordered to attack the man.  
The assailant charged the clones, destroying them one by one using taijutsu.  
'OK, it's time to try my new technique.' He formed some seals and shouted "Fire Ball!" The remaining replications quickly jumped out of the way, clearing the path for the jutsu.  
The man managed to dodge the attack by jumping up into a tree. He threw some kunai and shuriken at the real Naruto.  
They struck him full in the chest. Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. The remaining clones didn't wait and went at the unknown man again.  
The man had more time now and was able to finish his technique: "Razor Wind!"  
All of the remaining Naruto's now also disappeared. At that moment, Naruto showed up behind the challenger. "A Thousand Years of Pain!"  
The man fell off the branch he was standing on, but managed to land on his feet. Naruto didn't see that the man was making hand seals in the progress. "Whirlwind Blast!"  
The attack hit the surprised Naruto, knocking him out.  
"Guess you aren't as though as you thought, kid," he said.  
"Pretty logical, considering he's still a kid," Hannoki replied  
"And who may you be?" the attacker asked.  
"My name is Hannoki, and you have just defeated my student."  
"You certainly didn't train him very well did you? If you're anything like him, I doubt you're much of a challenge."  
"I don't mind you insulting my student, but I do take insults at my teaching methods seriously. Why don't you find out how strong I am?"  
"Is that a challenge?" he said while getting into his fighting stance.  
Naruto was already recovering and watched the two men getting ready to fight. He knew this was something he should stay out of and watch carefully.  
"Now that my student is watching, I can't afford to loose, can I?"  
The other man took the initiative: "Wind Blade."  
Hannoki blocked the attack with one of his own jutsu, "Earth Shield." Although the attack was blocked, the wall was cut into two. The sensei charged at his opponent at high speed, planting his knee into the enemy's stomach.  
The man flew back and did his next attack.  
Hannoki recognized it and did the same. Both men finished the "Whirlwind blast" at the same time. "I've already seen it twice, do you think it would work on me?"  
"Of course not, I was just testing you." he continued his assault with "Crushing Winds!" Two strong gusts of wind came towards Hannoki from each side.  
Hannoki nullified the effect with the "Wind Barrier". "I'm not done yet, Earth Slide"  
The ground under the opponent's feet started to move. He quickly jumped up. "Let's cut the toying! Forbidden Technique: Tornado Warp" A large tornado started forming around the man's body.  
Hannoki realized what was coming at him and tried one of his strongest defensive techniques: "Absolute Earth Barrier!" In a split second a bunker of earth had formed around him, protecting him for attacks.  
The assailant focused all his power on defense in order to break it.  
The earth was quickly being blown away. "This is the end for you!" Hannoki made another set of hand seals, the symbol on his forehead started glowing slightly. "Kurodendou Ryuu: Claw!"  
The ground where the man was standing was cracking. He tried to jump away, but a large black claw appeared out of the earth and grabbed him.  
Naruto had been watching the fight in awe, he had never seen such powerful jutsu before.  
The claw had completely immobilized the attacker. Hannoki approached him. "I've beaten you, and I have some questions for you which you WILL answer."  
The man knew he wasn't going to get away easily, so he nodded.  
"Good. First, what's your name?"  
"My name is Kagai. If I may be so rude, what is yours?"  
"I suppose there is no harm in telling. I'm Hannoki. Now tell me, why were you attacking those kids?"  
"You're not from around I suppose. The grey haired girl is the daughter of an important merchant. I was going to kidnap her for ransom. A man has to eat, you know."  
"I know some more legitimate ways to make money. I suppose I could hand you in to the authorities, but that would get me some unnecessary attention."  
Kagai sighed in relief.  
"No, I think I'll just tie you to a tree and wait for somebody to find you."  
The man's eyes widened in disbelieve.  
"Kid, get me a rope out of that bag. We're going to have to search for another training spot."  
Naruto did what he was told. His teacher released the claw and hit Kagai on the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious. After that, he took the man to a training ground closer to the village. He didn't want the man to starve while being tied up.

When the job was finished, Naruto and Hannoki went back into the forest. It was already late in the afternoon and Hannoki prepared a meal.  
"Ne, sensei. Why can't we stay in the village?" Naruto asked.  
"We're way too visible there. Plus, it's good training for you to sleep in the forest. It keeps you sharp."  
"Are you going to teach me that technique you used on that guy?"  
"You'll learn it when the final stage of the seal has been completed."  
Naruto sighed and quietly finished his meal.  
'The boy has already become a lot stronger since I first met him. He just doesn't realize it yet...' Hannoki thought.

Author's Notes:  
This chapter turned out a lot better than I had originally thought. The fighting part may not be so impressive, but you have to use a bit of imagination.  
I'm still not sure if Naruto didn't learn the Fire Ball technique too fast. It only took him a couple of hours.


	7. Training

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

Thanks again for the reviews. En Satsu Koku Ryuu Ha: If you actual read my notes you would see this: "I got some ideas for this fanfic by reading other people's works so if something sounds familiar, it probably is". It's the same basic idea, Naruto leave with someone to become stronger. There are tons of stories like that. If you would have read more then the first chapter, you would notice that this story is different from "From Cherub to Devil" (which is a very good story, may I add).  
Sorry for the ranting people, but comments like his just kind of take the fun out of writing.

* * *

It had been over a week since Naruto left Konoha with Hannoki. The memories were still there, but he was trying hard to push them away. His "friends" still showed up in his dreams, but he was now able to ignore it somewhat.  
He woke up at sunrise, just as his teacher had instructed him. The one thing he couldn't get used to was sleeping on the ground. He always woke up with a slight backache. Hannoki was already awake and was getting some things out of his pack to eat. "No warm food this time, I'm out of matches to make a fire," the man informed Naruto as he tossed him a piece of bread.  
Naruto caught it and started eating. 'Great, after a bad night, I now have to eat dry bread.' "Ne sensei, that means we're heading back to the village, right?"  
"No, I still have plenty of things that don't have to be cooked. We'll be checking up on our friend Kagai, I hope they found him already. I can do that by myself, you can train by yourself."  
"But what should I train? I already did the Fire Blast technique."  
"That's true, but I have a little challenge for you."  
Naruto raised an eyebrow.  
"Before I teach you a new technique, you have to figure out a creative use for the previous one I taught. Combining it with another technique you already know is also possible."  
"That shouldn't be too hard. Let's see, what can you do with a fireball." It didn't take Naruto too long. "I can light the fire so we can eat some cooked food!"  
"You're correct, although I made it pretty obvious for you. Do you think you would've come up with that if I still had matches?"  
"Hey, don't underestimate me!"  
"Whatever, kid. The next one is also a fire jutsu, it's called Mythical Fire Flower. It's pretty high level, so it should take some time." Hannoki proceeded to show the hand seals and finished with a small demonstration.  
"I'll be able to do it before you return!" Naruto boasted.  
"It's not that hard once you have proper chakra control and are able to do fire techniques. I'll be leaving now."

* * *

When Hannoki arrived at the spot where they had left Kagai, it was empty. To make sure nothing happened, we went into the Grass village. He tried not to draw attention, specifically staying away from the inn. Hannoki listened a bit to the chatter of some older women, they were talking about a strange man that was found tied to a log. He couldn't gather any more useful information from their conversation, so he decided to return to see how Naruto was doing. Before he left, he got a little "present" for Naruto.

Hannoki was greeted by a swarm of flames coming at him. He looked pleased. "Well done Naruto, I see you're already able to do it."  
"Of course, this is easy!"  
"Remember the challenge, I won't teach you anything new until you come up with something creative. In case I forgot to mention, you can only use the same trick once."  
"Hmm," Naruto said while sitting down. He was thinking hard.  
"You better hurry up the thinking, I don't have all day."  
A few minutes later, Naruto still hadn't come up with something.  
"You really have no talent for this, Naruto"  
"Don't worry, I'll come up with something." Naruto's mind started to drift off. He didn't know why, but he remembered the chuunin exam. "I got it!"  
"Oh, tell me."  
'I'll show you." He did the seals and breathed the fire towards his sensei.  
The teacher dodged the flames. "So, what's so special?"  
"Look at where they hit."  
Hannoki looked and saw that there were shurikens stuck where the flames had burned a tree. "Oh, nice. Shurikens hidden in the flames."  
'Sasuke can be helpful at times too,' Naruto thought to himself. Instantly the memories came back, but Naruto suppressed them. That was all over now, he wasn't in Konoha anymore. He didn't have to worry about those people anymore.  
"I won't teach anything new right now. I have a little something for you, thought." A grin was visible behind his mask. He showed Naruto the bag he had brought with him from the village.  
"What is it?" Naruto asked as he looked in the bag. It contained addition weights.  
"You're used to the current ones, so I decided to make them a bit heavier."  
"You won't go easy on me, will you?"  
"Of course not." The grin got bigger.  
The weights were **a lot** heavier, at least double the weight of the previous ones. He was barely able to stand.  
"It won't do you any good to stand still. Let's get moving!"  
"Not tag again." Naruto sighed.  
"No, this time you can just run a couple of rounds."  
Naruto sweat dropped.  
"Those 10 laps won't run themselves, move those legs!"  
Naruto slowly started running.  
"You better hurry up. You won't get any food before you finish."

* * *

It was already afternoon when Naruto finally completed his task. He was exhausted, he had to use chakra to be able to run.  
"From now on, you'll run 10 at the start of each day. This will help you build up your stamina and chakra supply. Even though you already have a lot of both, you will need all if it for the next couple of techniques."  
'I'm not happy about all this, but at least I'm going to learn some kick-ass techniques.'  
"We still have plenty of time today. Let's do some taijutsu training now.  
"Sensei, can't I have a rest first? I just ran 10 laps!"  
"In real combat, you won't have time to rest after running." Hannoki didn't wait for Naruto to respond and attacked with a right punch.  
Naruto managed a combination of dodge and block. The weights prevented him from moving fast enough to dodge. He could barely raise his arms for a block either. To make things worse, his chakra supply wasn't high because of the running he had done.  
"Remember, this is taijutsu training, so you can't use ninjutsu."  
'He managed to place me at a disadvantage here, again. If I don't do something fast, I'm going to get beaten up badly.'  
Hannoki didn't wait for Naruto to recover and continued with a left kick, which send the boy flying back. The next move came right afterwards.  
Naruto ducked just in time for the punch to hit the tree that he had been leaning against. He suddenly saw a opening and used all his force to aim a punch at it.  
The teacher caught the fist and used his knee to hit the boy's abdomen.   
Naruto had trouble staying conscious after that last attack and stumbled back a little. He managed to keep at it and move forward again. He threw a couple of punches and a kick at his sensei, but none had any effect. Hannoki moved towards Naruto in order to land a punch. Naruto managed to dodge it, but his teacher finished the battle by hitting him on the back of his neck.  
It was already getting dark when Naruto finally woke up.  
"About time, I thought you were going to stay like that until morning." He handed a bowl to Naruto. "Eat up, you've worked hard today. Tomorrow I'll be teaching you something completely new."  
"What's that?"  
"Genjutsu. It'll probably keep you busy for a while."  
Naruto sighed, he had never been able to do any genjutsu.

* * *

Back at Konoha, someone else was also training hard. During the day, Hinata received training from Neji. She was improving greatly and her self-confidence was growing. Right now, she was hitting a log using the Gentle Fist the Hyuga clan was famous for. Her mind wasn't on the training though, she was thinking about a certain boy.   
"Hinata!" a voice shook her out of her thoughts.  
"Ah, Sakura-san. What are you doing here?"  
"I'm just walking a little to relieve the stress of the day. Are you still training?"  
Hinata blushed a little. "H-Hai." She had improved, but was till very shy.  
"Your relation with Neji has improved. I heard he's training you now."  
"Yes. It seems that after the past chuunin exam, he doesn't hate the main family that much."  
"That reminds me, the next one is in three months. Are you going to take it?"  
"Our team will probably give it another try, yes. How about you?"  
"Since we're missing a teammate, it will be kind of hard."  
An awkward silence fell between the two. "S-Sorry about that," Hinata apologized.  
"No need for that, it's not your fault. Besides, I know you probably miss him more than I do."  
Hinata blushed a deep shade of red.  
They sat in silence for a while.  
"Ano, I should be heading home," Hinata said, while standing up.  
"I should be going too, see you, Hinata."

While Hinata was walking home, she kept thinking of Naruto. There had been no reports about Naruto or Itachi lately. There were even unconfirmed rumors that they were in the Grass country now. Nobody knew why Akatsuki wanted Naruto, but she felt that the adults were hiding something from her.

Author's Notes:  
I had to rewrite parts of this chapter because it was extremely short at first. Even shorter then my previous chapters. The next chapter will make a time jump and we'll see Naruto when he's a lot stronger already.


	8. Revelations

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

Thanks again for the reviews. I'll answer some questions/comments that were raised.  
Disgrunted: Kage = shadow and bunshin = replication, clone, copy. I don't see the problem in calling it Shadow Replication. It's really just preference and I prefer using the English name so I don't make stupid mistakes.  
Inferno-Dragonz: It's up to you to decide if Naruto's hot. It's not really relevant to the story so I haven't thought about it.

I'll answer a lot of questions in the next couple of chapters. Some interesting stuff is going to happen. I might even get a cliffhanger in, hehe.

"text" speech  
'text' thoughts  
«text» voice in mind  
------- change of scene.  
FLASHBACK 

* * *

Naruto was breathing heavy. He had just finished his training for the day.  
"That's enough for the day, you can rest," his teacher said.  
Naruto had left Konoha 6 months ago with this strange man who called himself Hannoki. The man had taught him many things. Naruto's taijutsu had improved a lot because of the physical training and the increasingly heavy weights that were on both his arms and legs. He also learned genjutsu. Although he wasn't very good at performing it, he was capable of detecting and dispelling most genjutsu, even higher level ones. Something was bothering Naruto, though. His teacher had taught him the basics of most ninjutsu, but he knew very little higher level techniques.  
They had only run into trouble once when they were spotted by Leaf ninja. Hannoki had been able to stop them long enough for the two of them to escape, but Naruto had been clearly recognized. They had to travel a couple of days to make sure they were safe.

"Naruto, there's something I need to tell you,"Hannoki interrupted they boy's thoughts.  
Naruto sat down next to his teacher. "What is it, Sensei?"  
"I already told you that the symbol on your forehead will provide you with power. Now I will tell you the entire story."  
Naruto listened carefully  
"Around the same time Konoha was founded, a man discovered he had an incurable disease. The man had a son that he loved very much. Before he passed away, the man wanted to teach his son everything he knew. Time, however, was limited and he knew he wouldn't be able to teach his son everything. That's why the man worked on a technique that would allow him to seal all his knowledge into his son.  
The man succeeded and his son became a very strong ninja. The son didn't want to let any of the knowledge his father had given him to go to waste. So he searched for someone who was worthy of receiving the seal his father invented. This became a sort of tradition and I am the fourth person who was granted the seal. Now, I have chosen you as the next in line. Once you have received the final stage of the seal, you will posses all of the knowledge the previous had, including my own."  
Naruto had been listening to the story in awe.  
"Now that you know the origin of this seal, I have something to ask of you. Once you have received the complete seal, you **must** seek someone who is worthy of the seal. You cannot let this secret technique go to waste of fall into the wrong hands."  
Naruto nodded. "I will do everything in my power to find a proper successor and keep this technique a secret."  
"Good, I knew I had chosen someone whom I could trust. You probably realize the reason I wasn't teaching you many ninjutsu yet."  
"Because I would know them anyway once I receive the complete seal?"  
"Almost correct. There is still once step before the third and final step."  
"And what does this second step do exactly?" Naruto asked a little suspicious.  
"It will open a two-way communication channel between the two of us. It not only allows us to talk to each other without saying anything, but it also allows me to teach you a new technique in seconds."  
"Kind of like the sharingan?"  
"That's a good way of seeing it. It also has the same weaknesses, though. Your body still has to be able to keep up with what you are trying to do."  
"So that's why we've been doing so much taijutsu?"  
"You're getting sharp, kid." Hannoki's face suddenly turned very serious. "Naruto, now that you know all this, do you willingly accept the second stage of this seal?"  
"Of course. After what you just told me, I can't wait to receive it!" Naruto said very enthusiastically.  
"Very well then." Hannoki started performing a complex series of hand seals. When he finished, he crossed his hands and laid his palm onto Naruto's forehead. The triangle that was already there started glowing and inside of it a new one started forming.  
Naruto felt a burning sensation on his forehead as the second stage was completed.  
«Now, how do you feel?» a voice asked Naruto in his head.  
"What is this?" Naruto said  
«This is the communication I was talking about,» the voice continued.  
"So this is you, Sensei?"  
«Yes. It's very convenient. It works no matter how far we are away. Why don't you try it too? Just think that you are saying something to me, but don't speak it out loud.»  
Naruto tried what his teacher told him. «So, eh, like this?»  
«Exactly. Let me explain this some more. The seals are in contact with each other and allow our brainwaves to communicate. It was the creators second attempt at the seal.»  
«So why did he continue, this would allow him to teach his son everything pretty fast.»   
«He still thought it was too slow, so he made the third and final stage to instantly transfer everything. The second stage will do just fine for now, though.»  
«When will I receive the complete seal then?»  
«You will when the time is right, there is no need for you to have such power yet. I'll tell you of some more things you can do. I already told you two forms of communication, but there is more you can do. If both of us concentrate, one of us can see, hear and feel the same things as the other.»  
Naruto couldn't hide his amazement. «Wow, that's pretty cool.»  
«I haven't tried this myself, but it should even be possible to take over the other person's body completely.»  
Naruto shivered while he looked at his teacher with a strange look in his eyes.  
«Don't worry, kid. It will only work if both of us concentrate. I can't just take over without you being able to anything about it.»  
Naruto wasn't entirely at ease yet, but he knew he could trust Hannoki. «Hey, let's test this thing. Could you teach me something cool?»  
«Eager, aren't we. Let's see, how about Wind Barrier?»  
Naruto had only seen his teacher perform it twice, but he suddenly knew exactly how it was done. Naruto concentrated and the needed hand seals showed up in his head. "Wow, this **is** cool!" he said out loud. He proceeded to form the seals extremely fast. Part of his training had been speeding them up as much as possible. "Wind Barrier!" A heavy wind started developing around Naruto, forming a shield against non-existent attacks.  
"Very good, it worked flawlessly. Your training has paid off, you need pretty good chakra control and stamina to be able to perform this."  
"So can you teach me some more cool techniques?"  
"Don't forget the challenge I gave you. You still have to come up with a creative use."  
Naruto sighed. "I knew there was a catch somewhere." He then though for a moment.

"I got something, how about this." Naruto laid a couple of kunai around him and did the technique. The kunai flew away, hitting nearby trees.  
All the training they had been doing for the past couple of months showed off. Naruto didn't only improve physically, but he had also become smarter. The old Naruto would have dived head first into a situation, whilst the "new" Naruto first looked at the situation and took a calculated decision.  
Heavy clouds had been forming while the two were practicing.   
«Looks like the weather is about to turn. Let's hope we can stay dry for a while»  
Hannoki hadn't spoken the words yet before the clouds burst open and rain started pouring down.  
"Damn, we don't have any shelter. We need to take a risk and head for the nearby village. Let's take a run for it!"  
Naruto didn't take long to grab his things and run towards the village they had passed a couple of days ago.

* * *

They arrived totally soaked at the inn. A small puddle was forming at their feet as they took off their cloaks and put them away. They walked towards the manager to book a room. It was then that Naruto noticed someone sitting at the bar. A Leaf ninja. Or **was** a Leaf ninja. The forehead protector had a cut in the middle, indicating the person was a missing-nin. But that wasn't what struck Naruto.

"Hinata?!"

Hinata had been sitting in the inn for a while. She had been looking for Naruto for the past couple of months, but without any result. 'Is he even still in Grass? He could have traveled to another country after he was discovered by the Leaf ninjas.' She noticed two persons dressed in black cloaks entered the inn, not paying any attention to them.  
"Hinata?!" a voice exclaimed.  
She jerked her head up, finding herself looking into a pair of blue eyes, belonging to a boy with blond hair. Her heart started to race "Naruto-kun?"

Naruto realized what he had done: he had revealed himself to a Leaf ninja. He remembered the night he left Konoha clearly. All of his friends were there, laughing at him. 'Hinata, she...she wasn't there!' Now matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember seeing her face amongst the crowd. "Hinata-chan, what are you doing here? And why is your forehead protector cut?"  
"Naruto-kun, that's a long story. I'll tell it to you, but I have to ask you something first."  
Naruto looked at her and nodded.  
"Why did you leave Konoha?"  
Naruto sighed. "You weren't there, you couldn't understand..."  
"I know it has something to do with Itachi."  
Something suddenly switched in Naruto's brain. 'That night...' other memories started floating into his mind. 'I was chasing Sasuke.' It was like a cloud of fog was disappearing from his head. 'Then there was Itachi. After that, everything turned black.' "Itachi, that bastard!" he said in realization.  
"Tsunade-sama said he used some sort of genjutsu..."  
"He tricked me into thinking that everyone chased me out of Konoha. That's why I went away."  
Hinata looked over Naruto's shoulder at the man that was with him. "Then, who is this man who's with you?"  
"He helped me, trained me. I don't know where I would've ended up without him."  
She was still a little suspicious of the man, but Naruto seemed to trust him completely.  
"Hinata-chan, you have an answer to your question. Now, tell me your story."  
Hinata took a deep breath and started talking.

FLASHBACK   
(A/N: Hinata doesn't tell everything that is in this flashback, just her POV)

Tsunade was sitting in her office. She was worried, they hadn't received much information regarding Naruto. The little she did know was very disturbing. Naruto had been sighted with a man dressed in black. Although the boy was apparently named Totei and the man Hannoki, they had clear indication that the boy was Naruto.  
That wasn't the problem though. The boy had helped some kids who were being attacked. That was clearly not something Itachi wouldn't have allowed. Furthermore, Naruto hadn't made any attempts at running, although the man had done all the talking. 'Argh, what's going on?! What is Itachi doing with the boy…'  
She didn't have time to think about that, because a messenger stormed into her office. "Hokage-sama, pardon the intrusion, but I have word that several ANBU have fought with Itachi near the Eastern border."  
Tsunade's eyes widened. "But that's not possible, he has been seen a couple of days ago in the Grass country. Even he can't travel that fast."  
"It's true. He used his Sharingan, so we are positive it was him."  
"Did you see any sign of the boy?"  
"No, he wasn't with him."  
"Alright, can you gather the ninjas? We need to have a meeting."  
"I will see to it, Hokage-sama"

* * *

Tsunade motioned for everyone to be silent. "We are currently in a very uncertain situation. I have strong reason to believe Itachi does not have Naruto. We need to find out who is with Naruto and what his purpose is." She paused for a while.

"For that purpose, I'm assembling a team that will travel to the Grass country to find out about Naruto and the man that is with him. There have been no known sighs of hostility, but we must remain alert. I will now announce the people how are in this special team." Tsunade said the names a several people, a total of eight.

"Your mission is to collect information and to try to bring Naruto back to this village **alive**." She stressed the last word a little. "You may use force if needed. Please report back as often as possible. This meeting is adjourned." All ninjas left the meeting hall.

* * *

Hinata was punching a log furiously. Tsunade had canceled all searches for Naruto after the special team had returned. Naruto had engaged the team, while clearly informing them he had no intention of letting them take him. It was only afterwards that Hannoki helped the boy to fend of the Leaf ninja. The eight Leaf shinobi were left behind with relative ease. They reported back to the Hokage as soon as possible.

It was she who ordered all people to stop searching for Naruto. "It's clear he doesn't want to return to Konoha. We have no reason to believe that the man who is with him has bad intentions either."

That wasn't the only reason why she was mad though. Hinata punched the log again. She had been asking Tsunade for the cause of Naruto's departure, but she wouldn't tell her anything. Hinata felt that she knew something, but wasn't telling her.  
'If they don't tell me, then I'll find out myself.' She made a decision, she would leave Konoha to search for Naruto. Hinata knew he was in the Grass country, so she had somewhere to look for the boy.

END FLASHBACK 

Naruto had been listening to Hinata's story. "You can't really blame them for stopping to search for me. We took care of those ninjas pretty good." A small smile appear under his mask.  
"Naruto-kun, there's a reason I'm here. I've come to take you back to Konoha."  
Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan, but I'm not ready to return yet."  
"But whatever happened was because of Itachi's genjutsu."  
"I know, but I have now found something I want to work for. I can't just abandon my teacher now."  
"I can't return empty handed. All of this will have been for nothing."  
"I understand what you gave up when you left Konoha. I also gave up something, but I will lose even more if I quit now."  
"If you're not coming with me, than I'm staying with you."  
"Eh?" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.  
Hannoki finally stood up and spoke. "Guess I have a new student than. Nice to meet you Hinata, my name is Hannoki."  
It was Hinata's turn to be surprised. She started blushing, her shyness wasn't gone yet.  
«Sensei, don't tell her about the Kyubi. She doesn't know and has no need to know either,» Naruto warned his teacher.  
«I won't, don't worry. » "First of all I have some rules before you are allowed to receive my training..."

* * *

'Whoever this girl is, she's had a big impact on the kid. He seemed very sad before, but he almost seems joyful now. It's a weird sight. I should make the best of this, I never would have hoped for two students. Judging from her eyes, the girl's a Hyuga, this could be very interesting.' He looked at Naruto and Hinata talking.  
"Hinata-chan, there is something I wanted to ask, though. Why did you come to look for me?" Naruto asked.  
Hinata turned bright red. "W-Well, I-I eh...". She couldn't speak the words, yet.  
Hannoki laughed inwardly. 'The boy may have mentally improved, but he's as dense as ever about women...'

Author's Notes:  
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, it came out without much trouble. There is a reason why Tsunade gave up the search after the last team returned, but I won't tell it yet :p.

These were actually two chapters at first, but for certain reasons I had two chapters to put up at once. I decided it would be easier to make it a single large chapter.

Anyway, the next chapter will most likely start after another time jump. I want to keep their improvements a surprise for a while. Please review, I do take comments into account during my writing!


	9. Walking Back

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm actually happy I don't because I suck at drawing.

Sorry for the late chapter, but I got sidetracked while writing this. I have no special vacation plans so I'll probably continue writing during the summer.

"text" speech  
'text' thoughts  
«text» voice in mind  
------- change of scene.  
FLASHBACK 

* * *

Two ninjas were approaching Konoha. One was a boy, he wore a black shirt, pants, mask and cloak. He had blond hair and blue eyes. Next to him was a girl, she wore the same type of clothes as the boy, but without the cloak. She had marine blue hair, but her eyes weren't visible because she used her forehead protector as a blindfold. They both had a Leaf forehead protector with a cut in the middle. They walked up to the gate where several ANBU were waiting for them. "Please come with us, Hokaga-sama would like to speak to you." Naruto and Hinata followed the ANBU to Tsunade's office.

"So you two have finally returned. A lot has happened during the year you were away." She inspected the kids who were in front of here. Konoha wasn't alone with changes, the otherwise loud boy had become silent and had a serious look on his face. Tsunade didn't know much about the girl except that she always had been very shy. The shyness didn't show anymore though. The thing that caught her attention was the blindfold she was wearing. Tsunade decided not to ask about it for now.  
"We're aware of that," Naruto answered.  
"So why are you here?"  
"We want to take the chuunin exam," Naruto calmly continued.  
"Do you think you can just walk in here and ask to be allowed to take the chuunin exam?"  
"Neither of us expect that, we are willing to take punishment and tests you deem necessary."  
"I'll come up with some suitable punishment later. You do realize that you need a team of three to take the chuunin exam?"  
"We are aware of that, Hokage-sama."  
"Just a sec, Hokage-**sama?**" Tsunade asked. "Who are you and what the hell did you do to Naruto?"  
Naruto and Hinata couldn't suppress a small laugh. "I thought it would be in order to be polite when asking for something as big as we are." Naruto explained, face returning to a serious state.  
Tsunade sighed. "I'll consider your request. Now, tell me. The man that was with you, Naruto, who was he and what business did he have with you?" she inquired.  
"I traveled with him for a while and he taught me several new techniques. After a while we both went our separate ways."  
"And why did he help you?" Tsunade asked suspiciously.  
Naruto remained silent for a moment. "He doesn't really like ninja villages and when I told him I left Konoha, he was more than happy to help me." Naruto wasn't really lying, what he said was true, although it wasn't the real reason why he helped them.  
Tsunade sighed again. "That doesn't explain why you left in the first place, though."  
"I left Konoha to become stronger and to get away from this village for a while. I think I don't really have to explain the reason for that?"  
She did understand. She knew how the villagers acted towards Naruto. "I'm still in the dark where Itachi fits in this, though."  
"Itachi...he used a genjutsu on me that made me realize some things. He was part of the reason I left, but in the end it was still my decision."  
"Alright, I'll go with that. What about you Hinata?" the Hokage asked the girl, who hadn't said a word at all.  
"I left to find Naruto and bring him back. That's also what I did."  
"So do either of you feel like leaving again without asking first?" Tsunade asked with a sarcastic grin.  
"We've seen our share of the world and both of us have achieved our goals. There's no reason to leave." Naruto answered.  
Tsunade nodded. "Okay, that's it for now. You can go. I expect the two of you back here tomorrow at 8AM sharp."  
The kids nodded. "Tsunade-sama, I have a question. What happened to my apartment after I left?" Naruto asked.  
"It's still in the same state you left it, you can use it if you want to."  
"Thank you, we will be going now." Naruto said as he bowed.  
'That kid sure has changed a lot.' Tsunade thought to herself.

* * *

Word quickly got around that Hinata and Naruto were back. As they were walking around, a man approached them. "Naruto, long time no see."  
"Iruka-sensei. How are you?"  
"I'm doing fine. You sure have changed a lot, haven't you?"  
"Yeah"  
"Say, how about we go for some Ramen to celebrate your return?"  
"Thank you for the offer, Iruka-sensei, but we still have a lot to do. Maybe some other time?"  
Iruka was startled. 'Did Naruto just decline an offer for Ramen?!'  
Before Iruka could say anything back, the two had walked off already.

Most of the villagers didn't recognized Naruto anymore, but they were still wary because of the cut in their forehead protector. It had been a while since they visited a village so they were running low on supplies. They walked to some stores and ordered vegetables, rice and some meat. ANBU were watching them the entire time.

'I almost forgot how peaceful Konoha was.' They passed by a flower shop. Inside was Ino, taking care of some flowers. Naruto walked inside, Hinata following him a bit uncertain. They went up to the counter.  
Ino looked up. Her hair was now long again. That was pretty much the only change, though. She still had the same style of clothes and her attitude hadn't changed either. She was really surprised when she saw who was in front of her. "Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan? Since when are you guys back?"  
"We just arrived this morning and came for some shopping."  
"It's been a while, what brings you guys back?"  
"We came to take the chuunin exam. But right now, I want to buy some flowers." Naruto grinned slightly.  
Hinata glared slightly at Naruto.  
Ino watched the two and couldn't help showing a smile. "So you guys have been by yourself for the past couple of months?" She asked curiously.  
"That's right, we've been alone for a while." Naruto's grin got bigger, although it didn't really show under his mask.  
Hinata now looked right at Naruto, they boy was ignoring her.  
"What flowers do you want, Naruto-kun?" Ino broke the silence.

* * *

When they arrived at the apartment, Naruto realized that he only had one bed. 'Sigh, I had hoped to sleep in a bed for once.' Naruto took his bag, got some food out of it and started cooking something. Hinata began unpacking the rest of both their bags. She also put the flowers in a vase. «You shouldn't have wasted money on the flowers, Naruto» (A/N: This is not a typo, they are doing the brain communication thing.)  
«Oh, come on Hinata-chan. You're even less romantic than I am. By the way, Hinata-chan, shouldn't you go pay a visit to your family?»  
Hinata's eyes saddened invisibly under the blindfold. «I'm not sure what they'll do after I left.»  
Naruto nodded, he knew what Hinata had left behind to get him back. «I'm sorry Hinata.»  
«No need to be, it was my decision.»  
«Anyway, food's almost ready.» Naruto went to search for some plates to place the food on.

He found some in the cupboard, they were a little dusty but they would do. He placed them on the table. «Let's eat.»

They both ate in silence. «I wonder how everyone is doing. There's already been a Chunnin exam in the meanwhile.» Naruto started a conversation.  
«Who would have passed it?»  
«We should probably ask Tsunade tomorrow.»  
«Hinata, let's go to sleep. It's been a long day and we'll probably need it tomorrow for whatever Tsunade's got planned for us.» He grinned a little.  
Hinata nodded. Before she went to sleep she took out a small bag.  
Naruto had seen this many times. 'We all make sacrifices, don't we,' he sighed inwardly.

FLASHBACK 

They were training in the forest. Hinata had just landed a good hit on Naruto and the boy was having some problems standing up. Suddenly, Hinata fell to the ground. "Hinata-chan? What's wrong?"

END FLASHBACK 

Naruto sighed again and they both got to sleep.  
A team of ANBU stood guard all night. They were wondering why neither of them spoke a word the entire evening.

* * *

Naruto was the first one to wake up the next morning. He got up and briefly glanced at Hinata. 'She's so cute when she's sleeping. I better let her sleep some more, it's been a while since we've slept in a decent place.' He went to the kitchen and started preparing some breakfast. He quickly searched through the bags they had gotten from the shops yesterday, looking for something he could make.  
Hinata awoke shortly after Naruto and saw the boy digging though the bags. «Naruto-kun, what are you doing?»  
Naruto gave Hinata a smile. He didn't have his mask on yet so it was clearly visible. «Just looking for some stuff. I'm not sure what to cook yet.»  
«Why don't I make breakfast for a change?»  
Naruto sweatdropped. «Eh, Hinata-chan, last time you made breakfast you literally blew it up.»  
"Hey! That was an accident!" Hinata shouted out loud. The ANBU outside heard this and watched the conversation in surprise.  
"I know that, but what if it happens again? I still want to have an apartment."  
The two kids started glaring at each other for several minutes until Hinata finally broke the silence. "Fine, you make breakfast." They got some clothes and walked into the bathroom to change.  
'She sure has grown a temper over the past year...' Naruto thought, remembering the shy Hinata he had known before. Naruto sighed, 'I still don't know what I should make.' He then spotted some Ramen in one of the bags. 'Hehe, now that I'm back in Konoha, I can start taking on my bad habits again.'

When Hinata got out of the bathroom, she could smell breakfast already. «Naruto, I'm not sure Ramen is the best thing you can have for breakfast...»  
«I used to eat this stuff all the time, it didn't kill me did it?»  
Hinata made a deep sigh. «Alright, let's just eat, We have to be at Tsunade-sama's office by 8»

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were making there way to Tsunade's office when suddenly at kunai flew at Naruto. He easily caught it and looked at its owner. "Sasuke, you shouldn't just throw kunai at people, it dangerous." Naruto paused for a brief moment. "For you, that is."  
"Ino told me that you were back, so I decided to welcome you." Sasuke said while giving Naruto a serious look. The Uchiha hadn't changed much. He had gotten a little bigger but he still wore the same cloths. The only difference was that he now also wore a chuunin vest.  
"Some welcome, you could at least bring me a real gift," Naruto answered as he threw the kunai back with a simple motion of his hand.  
"I hope you got stronger, because I still plan on having a fight with you." Sasuke said, trying to change the topic.  
"I'm going to try to take the chuunin exam, too bad you already took it."  
"I'll be sure to watch you in the finals, if you make it that far..."  
«Naruto-kun, we have to hurry up or we'll be late.» Hinata said  
"Sorry Sasuke, but I have a meeting and we're expected to be on time." With those words Naruto and Hinata ran off. «So Sasuke became a chuunin. Not much of a surprise, though.»

They were close to the Hokage tower. 'Good, at least we won't make a bad impression by being late,' Naruto thought.

* * *

The two genin were now in Tsunade's office, looking at the Hokage. "Alright, I'm going to allow you two to become official Leaf ninjas again," she said this wile handing them a pair a new forehead protectors. "You also got lucky, because you have a chance to take the chuunin exam."  
Both Hinata and Naruto rejoiced at these words, but they didn't show it. "But there is still the issue of the third teammate," Naruto said  
"I have a solution for that. Meet your new teammate."  
A girl with short red hair, white shirt and dark red pants walked in. She had a serious look on her face. "So you two are the famous missing-genin? Nice to meet you, my name is Seame."  
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Naruto and that's Hinata."  
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not playing favors for you two. I'm doing this for Seame. She isn't able to take the chuunin exam because of the lack of a team. You two seem the best candidates."  
"We won't disappoint you, Hokage-sama," Hinata answered.  
"You still have two months before the exam, use it to train together. You should go to training ground 3. Your new teacher will come there at 11AM," Tsunade finished. She then motioned the newly formed team to leave her office.

* * *

"I guess we should do some training, that way we can learn about each other's skills and abilities." Naruto started as soon as they left the building. "I'm best at ninjutsu and know a good amount of taijutsu. Hinata-chan is best at taijutsu, even better than me. She also has extensive chakra control. Neither of us can do much genjutsu although we are capable of dispelling most of them," Naruto summarized.  
"I'm best at genjutsu and ninjutsu. I'm laking a bit in the taijutsu department, though." Seame explained.  
"Alright then, we should go and find our teacher now." Naruto continued the conversation.  
«Naruto-kun, don't you think we should tell her about our 'other' abilities? She'll eventually found out.»  
«We'll tell her when the time comes.» Naruto told Hinata. "Oh yeah, almost forgot to put on my new forehead protector."  
Hinata and Naruto replace their forehead protectors. Seame noticed that Naruto had a strange symbol on his forehead: a circle with two triangles inside. 'I've never seen anything like that, I wonder what it is,' she thought.  
"Say, Seame-chan, how come you don't have a team?" Naruto wondered.  
"I wanted to take the chuunin exam, but the rest of my team didn't want to. They were scared because we're only rookies."  
"The both of us took the chuunin exam too when we just graduated from the academy."  
"You failed it, didn't you?"  
Naruto sweatdropped. "You're right, but it was because of special circumstances."  
"Let's just hope you don't fail it again."  
«I don't really like her,» Naruto thought at Hinata.  
They arrived at the training ground, but their teacher wasn't there yet.  
"It's only 10AM, so we'll have to wait for a while," Naruto commented. 'I hope it isn't Kakashi, because we'll be waiting until noon than...'

* * *

At exactly 10AM, someone walked up to the three genin. It was Kurenai. "So you guys made it here." She said.  
"Kurenai-sensei, it's been a while." Hinata answered.  
"Yes, and I don't want any of you to leave the village without my permission. From now on you're going to follow a strict schedule. Some of you have been in the chuunin exam already, so you know it isn't easy."  
"Don't worry Sensei, we'll do as you say." Naruto replied.  
"Good to hear I have your cooperation. I expect you to be here at 9AM every day, go that?"  
The three genins nodded.  
"Let's start this training, I want to see how good you guys are. Come at me one by one. Naruto, you can start. Don't hold back."  
«Naruto-kun, don't use your special ability. You don't want to kill her right away.» Hinata warned.  
«She's jounin level, I'm sure she can take something, Hinata-chan...»  
Hinata gave him a glare.  
«Alright, I wont.» Naruto said while moving into a fighting stance. His left leg was slightly in front of him and his right leg was standing stretched behind him. This stance allowed him to do a number of attacks while still being fairly defensive.  
"So you're going to wait until I attack? Very well." 'Hmm, the boy isn't the same one I saw before. He's actually testing to see his opponent's strengths before taking action. The pose he's in isn't very defensive, though.' She dashed forward and aimed a kick at Naruto's head. 'Let's not start out too difficult. He should be easily able to dodge this.'  
Naruto didn't dodge, instead he raised his arm and deflected the attack while rotating his body to deliver a kick of his own.  
'Nani?' Kurenai was slightly surprised by his quick movements, but she still managed to dodge it. She didn't have much time to ponder, because Naruto was already doing his next move.  
This time he aimed a couple of punched at his teacher, but none hit their target.  
'He must have figured out my weakest point is taijutsu. If he keeps this rate up, I won't be able to do any ninjutsu or genjutsu.'  
Several kicks and punches were exchanged between the two, raising the difficulty with each attack.  
Seame watched the fight carefully. 'How is it possible that Naruto is able to fight Kurenai almost evenly? Didn't he say that Hinata was better at taijutsu then him? If I remember correctly, he was the last during the graduation! I wonder if it has anything to do with the strange symbol on his forehead?'  
"That's enough Naruto," Kurenai said. Both of them were breathing heavily. She couldn't believe that a genin was capable of doing that. 'He's almost at his limit, though.' "Let's take a break for now," she shouted at the other two genins. Kurenai sat down and waited for her students to do the same. "I should have probably done this first, but let's have a little introduction. I already know your names, so just tell me some of your hobbies, the reason for you to take the chuunin exam and things you like and dislike. Seame, why don't you start?"  
"I don't really have any hobbies besides training. I like autumn and I dislike weaklings. I'm taking the chuunin exam to show my strength and become a good ninja."  
Kurenai gave a quick nod at Naruto.  
"I didn't really have much time for hobbies the past year, so I'm not sure about that." He glanced at Hinata. "I dislike cocky bastards. The people I like know I do, so there is no reason for me to tell anyone else."  
Kurenai raised an eyebrow but didn't question his response. "And why do you want to be a chuunin?"  
"That's easy, I want to use my abilities to protect this village."  
Kurenai couldn't help but chuckle. "And now for the final member of the team..."  
"You could say making medicine is one of my hobbies. There are several things I like and dislike, but I don't plan on naming them all. I'm mostly taking the exam for the same reasons Seame is. I want to show my family how strong I really am."  
Kurenai didn't know what happened during Hinata's travels, but it changed her a lot. 'I'll have to see if it's for the better. At least she's more confident and that's a good thing.' "It's getting pretty late already, how about I buy you all some lunch. How does a barbecue sound?"

Author's Notes:  
I'll try to make chapters longer from now on. I've read the manga today, so I feel like an idiot now. I might go around and change a couple of things in previous chapters because Rasengan is WAY more powerful than I thought. Next chapter will have Hinata and Seame fighting Kurenai. I haven't decided yet on any other battles that might occur.  
The chuunin exam is going to be a lot of fun with their current abilities. I'll explain some more details about the various characters then.


	10. Second Part

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do own all of the characters I introduce and the storyline of this fanfic.

Thanks for the review everyone, they're really motivating me to continue to write this.

donthaveone: This has got to be the most flattering review I've had yet. Unfortunately your idea won't work for reasons to be revealed soon.

DragonFlame: All will be explained in this chapter. The reason Seame didn't see anything on Hinata was because she was looking at Naruto.

kashisenshey: I'm not spoiling anything yet :P.

Anbu Dr J: Don't forget that Kurenai is a Jounin. That means she's not weak. Naruto didn't use any of his special abilities yet, so you can still expect some power-ups.

Dragon Noir: You're giving me some bad ideas about the blindfold evil grin. Everything will (hopefully) soon be revealed.

Place-your-name-here: I'm not sure what you mean by spacing the words more. I'd be happy to do it if I knew how.  
_**Beta Reader:** I think I know what you mean, I'll test it in this chapter and you tell me if I got it right m'kay?  
**Me:** Things got a little "too" spacious, so I did some changes. I'm using new paragraphs instead of newlines ( p instead of br for those who know HTML). Tell me if you like it this way._

hikariko: Seame's personality is still a bit sketchy in my head, but I might give here some of the traits you suggested.

If there are any grammar or spelling mistakes left, don't blame me. I have a beta reader who's supposed to take them out points at beta reader.

_**Beta Reader:** I'm SO gonna rip that finger off in a minute, mister growls menacingly As far as my spell checker and I are concerned, there aren't any grammar mistakes left in the fic once I read through it. However, the case may be that my way of spelling is different from anyone else's way, being that I'm Canadian like how Canadians spell it 'Colour' and Americans spell it 'Color'. That sort of thing. Right now my spell checker is set to American spelling standards since that's what most people tend to use. So if there are grammar mistakes in here, blame either the American way of spelling, or the idiot who didn't get me my morning tea. I also tend to not want to touch more than the spelling and grammar out of habit developed through experiences with past authors, even though I've been given permission to pretty much rewrite this. So, we'll do a test. I'll go all-out for corrections and do a special job on this chapter, and if people like it better that way then I'll continue with it. =P Luvs to you all! purrs_

"text" speech  
'text' thoughts  
«text» voice in mind  
------- change of scene.  
FLASHBACK 

* * *

The four ninjas were sitting at a table eating the food set before them. Seame was sitting in front of Naruto, observing him. He had to take his mask off to be able to eat, so the whisker marks were visible.

Next to Naruto was Hinata. She hadn't removed her blindfold as she was still able to eat with it on. It surprised Seame that Hinata was able to walk around and act as if she could see everything. 'Those two sure are a big mystery...' she thought to herself.

Kurenai had her own thoughts on her mind. Naruto's abilities were troubling her. He had grown considerably and she didn't think she would be able to provide him with enough training. She then took a quick glance at Hinata. The girl was looking at nothing in particular while eating, and didn't seem to be at all bothered by the blindfold. 'I'll need to have a long talk with those two after today's training.

Naruto was simply enjoying his lunch, not noticing the girl who was staring at him. Then suddenly, the realization hit him. He was the only male person on the team.

«Aw damn, I'm surrounded by a bunch of girls...» Naruto thought aloud.

«I heard that!» Hinata mentally remarked, looking Naruto straight in the eyes.

Naruto sweatdropped and nervously smiled at Hinata. «I didn't mean anything bad by that, Hinata-chan...»

Seame watched their "conversation" in confusion. "What the hell are you two doing?"

Both Naruto and Hinata sweatdropped. "Nothing, it's just an old habit." Naruto responded, nervously scratching the back of his head.

Kurenai was also interested in what they were doing, but refrained from asking. 'I'll see what I can get out of them later.'

They finished the rest of their food in an awkward silence.

* * *

"Alright, after Naruto's performance, it's time to see what the females of this team can do. Seame, you're up next." Kurenai said upon returning to the training ground.

'There's no way I'm going to loose to that guy.' Seame thought, jumping back and performing a set of hand seals. "Fire Flare!" The girl exclaimed as a burst of fire erupted from her mouth.

Kurenai easily dodged it and leaped forward, aiming a punch at her student's stomache.  
The punch seemed to hit, but then Seame blurred at bit and she stood half a meter to the side.  
'What the?! Did she move that fast? No, it's a genjutsu.'

Naruto watched the fight in amusement. «She's pretty good.»

Hinata noticed that the girl has done a genjutsu. Because she didn't see, the technique didn't affect her, though.

It was Seame's turn to attack. She jumped and did a flying kick.

Kurenai managed to dodge it. Yet, she was thrown back.

The foot had moved in mid-air, hitting Kurenai in the gut.

'The girl's pretty good, too bad genjutsu is also my specialty.' Kurenai performed a set of hand seals "Reveal!"

A shockwave formed and Seame's outline jumped around as the genjutsu hit her. She knew her jutsu had been dispelled.

Kurenai didn't stop yet: "Suppressing Mind Wave"

As the attack hit its target, Seame fell over, feeling extremely dizzy.

"You're impressive with genjutsu, that's a high level jutsu that usually only Jounin know." Kurenai explained as she helped Seame to stand.

Seame went and sat down next to Naruto, she still wasn't feeling well from her teacher's beating.

"Hinata, now it's your turn. Let me see how much you've improved."

Hinata stood up at those words and walked over to her teacher. "Let's begin!" and she instantly ran forward at an amazing speed.

Kurenai could see a fist heading for her face, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge it. 'Dammit!'

Centimeters before the punch impacted, Hinata disappeared, than quickly reappeared to sweep her teacher's legs.

Kurenai managed a back flip and landed on her feet with ease. 'Hinata isn't going to give me a chance to relax. Her speed is amazing!'

Seame still wasn't feeling too well, so she wasn't sure if she was or wasn't seeing things.

Hinata was already at her next attack.

Kurenai saw it coming and raised her arms to block it. The punch hit full force and Kurenai slid backwards from the impact. 'Nani?! She's not only very fast, but her strength is not something you would expect from a girl of her nature.'

Seame now knew that her mind wasn't playing tricks and that what Naruto had mentioned earlier was true. Hinata was better at taijutsu then him.

'I have to end this quickly.' Kurenai thought, beginning another series of hand seals.

Hinata grabbed her teacher's hand before the seals could be completed.

Before Kurenai knew what was happening, she was hurled towards a tree. 'Heh, I was worried about Naruto. It looks like Hinata might be more of a challenge.' And now being farther away from her student, Kurenai had the opportunity she needed to complete the hand seals.

"Spinning Wind Blast!"

A large tornado was formed and started moving towards Hinata.

Hinata leapt forward to face the attack head on, using her hand to block the jutsu. As the wind collided with her hand, a large amount of chakra began swirling from it. She was being pushed back by the force of the attack. She gritted her teeth together while she managed to keep standing as she slid backwards from the force against her.

Kurenai's attack was now disengaged, and Hinata was still standing. Kurenai couldn't hide her amazement and surprise.

Hinata was breathing heavily, but still it was clear she was not yet tired.

"You have all now seen what each of your teammates are capable of. You should use this knowledge to improve your teamwork abilities. Training is over for today. Don't be late for tomorrow."

With that, the three students nodded and started walking away.

Kurenai followed Hinata and Naruto. "You guys aren't telling me everything. I have some questions for you and you're not getting away before I get answers."

"This could take a while, we should go sit somewhere," Naruto answered.

"Fair enough, I know a good place."

* * *

The three of them were now sitting at a table, sipping from their freshly ordered drinks.

"Let's start this. What do you want to know?" Naruto began.

"First of all, why is Hinata wearing a blindfold?" Kurenai asked.

Hinata couldn't help but smile. "There's actually no special reason besides helping my concentration. As soon as I activate the Byakugan, it doesn't matter anyway. As an added advantage, it's harder to recognize me as a Hyuuga if people can't see my eyes."

"That sounds reasonable. Now onto my next question, what were you doing back at the restaurant?"

"That requires a bit of a longer explanation." Naruto responded. Both Hinata and Naruto removed their forehead protectors, revealing a symbol on their foreheads. Naruto had the completed seal on his forehead while Hinata only had a small triangle.

Kurenai looked at them with a confused expression.

"These are the result of a technique I learned. They allow us to communicate without speaking out loud." Naruto continue his explanation.

"So you were just talking to each other back there?"

"Correct."

"I've never heard of such a technique, who did you learn it from?"

Both Naruto and Hinata became silent for a moment.

"Well?"

It was Hinata who replied. "The man who Naruto left with, Hannoki, did. Naruto adapted it slightly and performed it on me."

"That brings up my next question. Who is this man?"

"We don't really know much about him." Naruto answered. "He wasn't from a ninja village and he was trained by an old man. He just happened to pass by and take me in."

"Why did he do that? Why would he pick up a random boy that happens to run away from his village?"

"He wasn't really fond of the entire village thing. If someone decided to leave his village, Hannoki would be more then happy to help the person out."

"After your last encounter with Leaf ninja, there is a big hole, care to fill that up?"

"I stuck around with him for a while, then we met up with Hinata, and after another while we decided to return to Konoha." Was Naruto's story.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty brief, don't you think?"  
"That's the big outline and about as much as I want to share in regards to that period." Naruto's eyes hardened at these words.

Kurenai caught the hint, but still asked on. "Was this Hannoki the one who trained you both?"  
"Partially, he did teach us certain things, but we also learned a lot on our own," Hinata replied.

"There's no way anyone can improve that much in such a short time, especially on your own."

"It's true that we trained a lot on our own, but we learned some 'extreme' training methods. If you have to choose between staying alive and becoming stronger, your choice is quickly made." Naruto grinned as he said these words. His mask was undone so he was able to take a sip of his drink.

Kurenai raised here eyebrow even further. "You mean something like Gai does?"

Naruto laughed. "No, not really. You basically fight with someone as if your life depended on it. If they both do that, you're in for some serious training. It forces you to your limit and above."

Their teacher was at least a bit horrified.

"There's one thing about doing it with the same person over an over again, though. After a while you know the other person inside out and you are able to predict their movements. This ironically results in some of the best teamwork you can get."

"So you two were the ones who did this training together?"

"Yes, for the most part. Hannoki occasionally joined in to provide some insights and variation."

"Was this the only training you did during all that time?"

"No, we also learned some new jutsu's from various sources. We wandered around to pick up new techniques," Hinata answered.

This caught Kurenai's interest. "Did you leave the Grass country?"

"Of course, we traveled a lot. We went to pretty much every country, and we met a lot of interesting people." Hinata continued.

Naruto had almost emptied his glass in the meantime.

"Alright, that's all for the questions, for now. What are you going to do after this?"

"We're going to train of course. Like you said, the chuunin exam won't be easy. I wonder if Seame is already doing that." Naruto said while glancing at a nearby alleyway.

Kurenai looked in the same direction. She hadn't noticed Seame had been watching them all this time. "Seame, why don't you join us? There's no need to hide."

Said girl confidently walked out of the alleyway. "I wasn't eavesdropping or anything, I just happened to pass by.

Hinata still had her blindfold off, so Seame saw her eyes.

"Hey, are you a Hyuuga?" Seame asked in surprise.

"You didn't know?" Naruto asked.

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not telepathic or something..." Seame said angrily

"It's just that the Hyuuga family is pretty well known, so I assumed most people knew the heir."

"Wait a minute, you're **that** Hinata? The weak, unconfident girl who was beat by Neji two years ago in the chuunin exam?" A look of total confusion was plastered all over her face.

"That's right." Hinata replied. "Although I would like to think that I've changed. I'm not even sure Neji-neesan would be able to beat me now."

"We're about finished here. I still want to get some training done today, so if you don't mind?" Naruto said.

"I'm done with you guys, so feel free to go." Kurenai responded.

"Let's go then, Hinata."

"Right, see you guys tomorrow."

"Wait a minute," Seame interupted. "If you are going to train, I'm coming with you."

"Help yourself, training as a team improves our teamwork. I see no reason against it." Naruto said.

«Besides her getting killed...» was Hinata's answer. She picked up her blindfold and put it back on.

* * *

Seame was confident as she walked with her new teammates back to the training ground. 'At least they're stronger than my previous teammates. I might actually have a chance of becoming a chuunin now. I didn't actually show my full power while fighting our teacher. They probably did to impress her.' She walked at a nearby log, she was lacking mostly in taijutsu, so that was what she was going to practice for now.

After hitting the log a couple of times, she heard a big explosion nearby. In front of Hinata was a small crater in the ground. Naruto was several meters away, breathing heavily. 'He's almost out after only one attack from her? What a wimp.'

Naruto quickly got up and executed a ninjutsu: "Piercing Earth Spikes!" Several sharp spikes of earth shot out of the ground beneath Hinata.

She dodged all of the spikes and ran forward to strike Naruto again.

The boy bounced himself off of a tree and into the air: "Spinning Wind Blast!"

It was the same attack Kurenai had used earlier during training, and Hinata was planning on blocking it the same way. She readied herself to catch the attack mid-air when suddenly she was pulled under the ground up to her waist. Hinata had managed to place her hands to the ground, preventing herself from being pulled deeper underground.

Naruto knew he only had a short time before Hinata would get out of the trap. "Great Blazing Fireball!"

Seame, who had been watching the fight, opened her eyes wide in surprise. 'That attack's going to kill her in her current position!'

It was too late to stop the jutsu. A large amount of fire covered the spot where Hinata was.

As the smoke cleared up, Hinata was still standing. Her arms crossed in front of her.

"Looks like I win this time." Naruto said proudly.

'How could she have survived that attack?!' Seame wondered in awe.

Naruto saw the girl's shocked expression. "Hey, don't worry. We never use full force for the finishing move in training battles. Want to do some sparring?"

Seame quickly regained her composure. "It's better then beating up a log."

* * *

The sun was already starting to set when they finally returned home. They passed by Naruto's apartment first and Hinata and Naruto said goodbye to Seame.

"Wait a sec, you two are living together?"

Naruto looked at Seame as if she had asked if there was water in the ocean. "Yeah..."  
Hinata blushed a little at Naruto's comment.

Seame shrugged and left the two behind as she walked towards her own home.

Author's Notes:  
It's shorter than the previous chapter, but it's still longer then the other chapters. If it looks large, it's because of the added space. Neither Naruto, nor Hinata have used anywhere near their full power yet. They probably won't use it in the chuunin exam either. Don't worry, I still have some things planned for afterwards.  
I had no good opportunities for flashbacks in this chapter. I'll probably do some during the exam to explain what happened to Hinata.

I'll write up the next chapter and afterwards I'll go over the previous chapters and do some cleaning. I'll be using the same spacing style as in this chapter unless someone objects.


End file.
